Political Overview Foreign Relations

rally" at his party's headquarters on election night, Mr. Barrow vowed that the new government would
not stray from the straight and narrow.
The new Prime Minister is additionally committed to the early implementation of a series of other
impressive manifesto goals covering a broad range of areas including the economy, the social sector,
education, agriculture, and oil and energy.
Mr. Barrow was born in Belize City on March 2, 1951. He was trained at the University of the West
Indies, Cave Hill (LL.B. 1973); Norman Manley Law School, Mona (Certificate of Legal Education,
1975); University of Miami School of Law (L.M., 1981) and the University of Miami (M.A. Interna-
tional Relations).

Source: Government of Belize; available online at URL:

http://www.governmentofbelize.gov.bz/pm_profile.html

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Foreign Relations

General Relations
Belize is a member of the United Nations and several of its specialized agencies; as noted in the Gov-
ernment Organization section of this country review; Belize is also a member of the Commonwealth.
In addition, Belize is a member of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (IBRD),
the World Trade Organization (WTO), the African, Caribbean, and Pacific Countries (ACP), the Group
of 77 Developing Countries (G-77), and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).

Regional Relations

Belize's principal external concern has been the dispute involving the Guatemalan claim to Belizean
territory. This dispute originated in imperial Spain's claim to all New World territories west of the line
established in the Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494. Efforts in the 19th century to resolve the problems led
to later differences over interpretation and implementation of an 1859 treaty intended to establish the
boundaries between Guatemala and Belize, then British Honduras. Guatemala contends that the 1859
treaty is void because the British failed to comply with all its economic assistance clauses. Neither
Spain nor Guatemala ever exercised effective sovereignty over the area.

Negotiations proceeded for many years over this territorial matter, including one period in the 1960s in
which the United States (U.S.) government sought unsuccessfully to mediate. A 1981 trilateral accord
(Belize, Guatemala, and the United Kingdom) was not implemented due to disagreements. Belize
became independent on Sept. 21, 1981, with the territorial dispute unresolved. Negotiations between

Belize Review 2011 46

Foreign Relations Political Overview

Belize and Guatemala, with the United Kingdom as an observer, resumed in 1988. Guatemala recog-
nized Belize's independence in 1991, diplomatic relations were established, and Guatemala was
granted access to t he Caribbean via Belize. In 1994, however, Guatemala once again laid claim to Bel-
ize. Negotiations over the matter were resumed. In early 2000, a sequence of events, which occurred
on the disputed land, stalled negotiations between the two countries. Both sides are expected to take
part in discussions this year to resolve the over 500-year-old dispute. In 2001, the dispute continued
unabated; new discussions were set for 2002 and continued well into the last few years.

Belize is a member of CARICOM, founded in 1973. In 1990, it became a member of the Organization
of American States (OAS). As a member of CARICOM, Belize backed efforts by the United States to
implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 940, designed to facilitate the departure of
Haiti's de facto authorities from power. Belize agreed to contribute military personnel to the Multina-
tional Task Force, which restored the democratically elected government of Haiti in October 1994, and
to the United Nations Mission in Haiti (UNMIH).

More recently, Belize attended the April 1999 CARICOM/ACS (Association of Caribbean States)
summit in Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic. The summit addressed trade and tourism
issues, focusing on regional transportation infrastructure improvements needed to promote both trade
and tourism. The ACS also issued a declaration condemning the United States Helms-Burton sanctions
against Cuba and calling on the United States to revoke this act. Belize joined the Dominican Repub-
lic, Grenada, Jamaica, Santa Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in a summit meeting with
the European Union in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

In April 2005, the regional Caribbean Court of Justice, based in Trinidad, was inaugurated. As the
final court of appeal, it was intended to replace the London-based Privy Council among several Carib-
bean countries, including Belize.

In order to strengthen its potential for economic and political development, Belize has sought to build
closer ties with the Spanish-speaking countries of Central America to complement its historical ties to
the English-speaking Caribbean states. To those ends, Belize is a member of the Caribbean Develop-
ment Bank (CDB), the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), the Economic Commission for
Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), and the Latin American Economic System (LAES). Bel-
ize is also a member of the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the
Caribbean (Organismo para la Proscripción de las Armas Nucleares en la América Latina y el Caribe
or OPANAL).

Foreign policy initiatives include joining with the other Central American countries in signing the
1994 Conjunta Centroamerica-USA (CONCAUSA) agreement on regional sustainable development.
More recently, in March 1999, Belize signed the Declaration of Antigua in Antigua, Guatemala. In this
agreement, the heads of state of Belize, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala,
Honduras, Nicaragua, and the United States agreed to work together to rebuild the Central American
states devastated by Hurr icane Mitch. The agreement also addressed debt relief, democracy and
human rights, immigration, sustainable economic development, and trade and investment.

CARICOM

47 Belize Review 2011

Political Overview Foreign Relations

The Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) was establishedJuly 4, 1973 to pro-
mote regional economic integration and development, especially among the less developed countries.
Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Mont-
serrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad
and Tobago are members. The British Virgin Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands are associate
members. Anguilla, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Mexico, Netherlands
Antilles, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela have observer status.

OAS

The Organization of American States (OAS) was establish ed April 30, 1948 to promote regional
peace and security as well as economic and social development. The OAS has 35 members and 31
observers.

ECLAT

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) was established Feb. 25,
1948 as the Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLA) to promote economic development as a
regional commission of the UN's Economic and Social Council. ECLAC has 41 members and seven
associate members.

LAES/SELA

The Latin American Economic System (LAES), also known asSistema Económico Latinoamericana
(SELA), was established Oct. 17, 1975, to promote economic and social development through regional
cooperation. Members include: Argentina, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa
Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Hondu-
ras, Ja maica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay,
and Venezuela.

OPANAL

The Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean, also known
as Organismo para la Proscripcion de las Armas Nucleares en la America Latina y el Caribe (OPA-
NAL), was established Feb. 14, 1967 to encourage the peaceful uses of atomic energy and prohibit
nuclear weapons. Members include Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize,
Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador,
Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint
Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

Belize Review 2011 48

Foreign Relations Political Overview

Other Significant Relationships

The United States (U.S.) and Belize traditionally have had close and cordial relations. The United
States is Belize's principal trading partner and major source of investment funds, and is also home to
the largest Belizean Diaspora, estimated to be 70,000 strong. Belize's economic growth and accompa-
nying democratic political stability are important U.S. objectives in a region successfully emerging
from a prolonged period of civil strife, therefore, Belize is included in the U.S.-Caribbean Basin Initia-
tive.

In May 1997, then-Prime Minister Manuel Esquivel joined U.S. President Bill Clinton and his counter-
parts from Central America and the Dominican Republic in Costa Rica to celebrate the remarkable
democratic transformation in the region and to reaffirm support for strengthening democracy, good
governance, promoting prosperity through economic integration, free trade, and investment. The lead-
ers also expressed their commitment to the continued development of ju st and equitable societies and
responsible environmental policies as integral elements of sustainable development.

International crime issues dominate the agenda of bilateral relations between the U.S. and Belize. Pres-
ident Clinton designated Belize a major transit nation for cocaine in April 1996; the U.S. is working
closely with the government of Belize to fight illicit narcotic trafficking. In October 1996, the U.S. and
Belize signed a Stolen Vehicle Treaty. Both governments seek to control the flow of illegal immigrants
to the U.S. through Belize.

The United States is the largest provider of economic assistance to Belize, contributing about $2.89
million in various bilateral economic and military aid programs to Belize in FY 2002. Of this amount,
nearly $2.3 million was provided by the U.S. Military Liaison Office. The U.S. Agency for Interna-
tional Development (USAID) closed its Belize office in August 1996 after a 13-year program during
which USAID provided $110 million worth of development assistance to Belize. Belize still benefits
from USAID regional programs. In addition, during the past 34 years, almost 2,000 Peace Corps Vol-
unteers have served in Belize.

In recent years, the Peace Corps has had 53 volunteers working in Belize. In Punta Gorda, Voice of
America operated, until the end of 2002, a medium-wave radio relay station that broadcasted to the
neighboring countries of Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. The U.S. military has a diverse and
growing assistance program in Belize that included the construction of seven schools and four water
wells by National Guard soldiers in Stann Creek District in 2000. Another "New Horizons" humanitar-
ian project was conducted in southern Belize in 2003. Private American investors, responsible for
some $250 million total investment in Belize, continue to play a key role in Belize's economy, particu-
larly in the tourism sector.

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please email editor@countrywatch.com. For the full CountryWatch offering, please visit www.coun-
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49 Belize Review 2011

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